Changfeng Motor Co. said Monday it remains on track to begin selling its vehicles in the North American marketplace in 2009, a claim that raised the collective eyebrows of industry observers.

The state-owned Chinese automaker unveiled two new crossover utility-type vehicles during the second day of media previews for the North American International Auto Show. It was the second year exhibiting at the Detroit show for Changfeng, which unveiled prototype vehicles in 2007.

The automaker would face significant hurdles in achieving such a goal, including meeting stringent U.S. safety and quality standards and establishing a dealer network.

"As I state last year, we hope we can come to here in two years. That means 2009 we hope to come to this market," said Li Jianxian, Chengfeng's chairman, through a translator.

The company unveiled its Kylin, a crossover marketed by the company as a "multi-purpose" vehicle, and the Liebao CS6, a so-called "urban SUV," both of which are slated to begin production this year. The Kylin's chassis was developed by the Lotus Group of England, uses a powertrain developed by Mitsubishi and fuel-injection provided by Bosch.

Li delivered a presentation in fractured English, reading from prepared remarks before a crowd that appeared split between English and non-English speaking reporters. A question-and-answer scrum with media following his speech was beset by some confusion owing to linguistic differences.

The company is targeting the development of at least two brand-new vehicles each year, Li said. It also is examining the possibility of establishing manufacturing capacity in North America, he said.

"We are coming here not only to showcase our products, we are coming here to find different ways to come to market," Li said. "Building an assembly line is one of the options."